A Dragon’s Fire
by DarkTwil
Summary: X792, one year after the battle of Tartaros, a battle of victory, but also pain and sorrow. Fairy Tail, after a year of seperation, comes back togethor to face new chalanges and threats. Amongst them, one person has vanished without a trace. Will he return to them? Will this change affect his true self? Darker Natsu ...Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and its characters.
1. X792

**X792**

One year has passed since the battle fought against the demons of Tartaros. After their one year separation, Fairy Tail will once again assemble and one of Fiore's strongest and rowdiest guild will reappear.

Over this year, Lucy had been keeping track of whichever guildmate she could, in order to one day, reunite the guild again.

Just a few days ago, most of the core members had come back, ready to join the guild, reunite with their family once again. After rescuing their master from the Alvarez Empire, the guild soon got busy with reconstructing the Guildhall, previously destroyed in their fight against the demons.

Back in Magnolia, the newly reformed guild was back to their usual activities, not ignoring the threat of Alvarez, but since the empire has yet to declare any wars, they assumed they were safe.

It was early on the morning, the sun shined brightly on the streets of Magnolia, as the townspeople had started their day, opening up the markets and shops, leading their ordinary lifestyles.

Lucy walked through the streets first thing in the morning, doing some shopping before the streets get busy and town fully wakes up."So, what to buy first? I should probably pass by the market first. I'm running low of food." She talked out loud, as she looked at her shopping list. She strolled as she hummed happily.

She had missed Fairy Tail a lot over that one year, and now that the guild was back, everything seemed to be going back in place and returning to normal.

As she continued walking, she found herself in deep thoughts, thinking back at the disbandment of their guild, her experiences in that one year...She then frowned when her thoughts were turned to her best friend, the resident dragon slayer, who she had no clue where he could be at this very moment. She was lying to herself if she said she wasn't worried. It's true that he's strong and more than capable of fending for himself, and Happy's with him so she shouldn't worry. But there was something inside of her, giving her a bad feeling about his disappearance. Like a premonition. She decided to put those feelings aside for the time being since she had previously tried to track him and hindered unsuccessful each and every time. She chose to continue with her morning shopping before going to the guild later on.

Guildhall

The early daylight gleamed from the windows inside the guild, lighting the hall with the bright light of the morning.

A few people were currently at the guild. It was still too soon for the guild to be rowdy, however, ever since reuniting, the guild had a lot fewer members than before. But it didn't seem to bother anyone in particular, and it's not like it's abnormal. The guild was disbanded for an entire year.

The people currently present in the guild were Makarov and Mavis, who were sitting by the bar, along with Gajeel and Levy, who were researching. Well, Levy more than the dragon slayer.

The doors of the hall opened. The armored mage walked inside, her armor clicking as she walked towards the matters.

"Good morning Master, First. I was wondering if any decent jobs were available. I'm not sure we'll be getting very good ones for a while." Erza said before walking to the request board, looking around at jobs.

"Good morning Erza. I'm sure we'll be getting good requests soon enough. Some people are still not aware of our revival. Give it time." Makarov grinned.

" I almost forgot Wendy left this morning for Lamia Scale. She said she wanted to visit Shelia. She'll be back before nightfall." Erza announced as she began walking back to the masters.

Makarov took a sip of his drink and looked down at his mug "Yes, she must miss her dearly. They did spend one year together. It's not surprising."

The scarlet mage then walked to a table, sat down, and got busy with polishing her swords as well as enjoying the peace and quiet of the guild. That was quickly changed as people started showing up one by one, shattering the calm of the hall. The members began talking, eating...each attending to their own business.

A few hours later, Lucy came to the guild and directed herself to a table where Erza, Gray, Juvia, Gajeel, and Levy were seated.

"Hi, guys!" She waved as she sat down next to Levy."What are you reading?"

Levy looked up, being so deep in her readings, didn't notice her friend's arrival. "Oh hey Lu! These are just some stuff I recorded from the council's archives since I don't have access anymore. There are so many things about Fiore that are hidden from public views. It's amazing how much a council can hide." She passionately continued reading.

The celestial mage then looked at Gray who was quietly reading his book and then at Erza who was polishing her armors.

She opened her mouth to say something but Erza beat her to it "Lucy, you told us you've kept track of the members this past year. Do you happen to know where Natsu and Happy are? I would imagine them being one of the first ones to come back after hearing the revival of the guild." She looked at the blond girl, waiting for answers.

Lucy looked down and frowned "I'm sorry Erza but I have absolutely no idea. It's like he's fallen off the face of the earthland. He left before hearing of the disbandment and it was just after watching his father...die. He just wrote a letter saying he's going to train for a while." She finished.

"That's odd. It's so unlike him to just disappear like that. He should've been back by now. I starting to get worried. Could it be that something happened?" Erza wondered and frowned as she thought of the places that he could've gone to.

Gray looked up with a neutral expression "He doesn't have the brains to hide on purpose. He probably got lost in the middle of a forest or something" He said with a smirk.

"Should we go look for him?" Lucy asked the group.

"Salamander's not lost that's for sure. Don't underestimate a dragon's nose. He's probably just training" Gajeel stated

"Yeah I mean, Happy's with him too right? But I really hope they're alright" She mumbled the end of her phrase.

Erza took on a serious expression as she suddenly got up and walked over to Makarov "Master, who is still missing from the guild?"

Makarov scratched his chin as he began thinking, he looked up "I think it's just Gildarts, Natsu and Happy"

"Master, I don't really know why but I'm worried for Natsu. It's not like him to just go up and disappear like this. Can we per-"

"Erza. Natsu is one of our finest mages and more than capable of taking care of himself. We should wait some more before assuming events" Makarov took a sip and closed his eyes. Of course, he was worried for his children, that includes Natsu. But he believed in him. Erza walked away and went to her table.

"So anyway, where's Wendy? I haven't seen her around today" Lucy questioned

Erza answered "She went to see Shelia. She misses her a lot."

After a while of silence, Erza slammed her hands on the table, getting everyone's attention "I don't like that Natsu is nowhere to be found. I have a bad feeling about this."

"I know what you mean Erza. I'm worried for him" Lucy said as she let in a sad smile.

"I suggest we go look for him. At least ask around and get some information on his and Happy's whereabouts. Get some leads. We'll leave tomorrow" She said in a very authoritative tone, leaving no room for discussing.

Gray starched the back of his head "That Flame brain just had to go and disappear." He said annoyingly. Lucy looked happy about her decision and completely on board with the plan.

The next day

Erza, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, and Carla walked to the train station. They decided to travel to different towns in order to gain more information on their friends.

"Do we have to take the train?" Wendy asked, becoming pale just by looking at the transportation.

"Yes, child. We'll get to nowhere by walking. It'll take too much time" Carla responded as she pated Wendy's shoulders.

"Wait can't she use Troia?" Lucy wondered since Wendy usually didn't have too many problems with transportation.

"No, ever since a year ago, the spell doesn't work anymore" Wendy answered, gulping as they got on the train.

A few hours later, they arrived at the port town of Hargeon and decided they would split up to gather more clues. Erza, Carla, and Wendy went off in one direction and the rest of them went to another.

Lucy, Gray, and Juvia walked down the streets, asking about their friend form shopkeepers and random people.

"Aahh, this is getting us nowhere" Gray whined, becoming irritated by the lack of information.

"You would think a pink-haired man with a flying cat would be noticeable to people" Juvia stated.

They kept wandering around. After a few hours, they met up with the others. Both groups were unsuccessful in finding a single clue about the fire dragon slayer. They decided to go to Crocus next since it's a large city, people were bound to have heard something about Natsu.

After arriving at the blooming capital of Fiore, they continued their search in the same way as they did in Hargeon.

Erza, Wendy and Carla were walking while asking whoever they found about their friend. Erza's questioning method seemed a little excessive but the other two didn't dare to comment on it.

As they were walking, they ran into some familiar faces. Sting, Rogue along with Frosh and Lector were strolling down the streets.

"Those two are the dragon slayers of Sabertooth aren't they?" Erza asked looking at Wendy.

"Yeah. Maybe they'll know something." Wendy ran off in their direction while waving her hand.

"Hello, Wendy. It's nice to see you again. Hello Erza." Rogue saluted.

"It's fairy tail again. I heard you guys were back. Congrats!" Sting waved and grinned. "What brings you around here?"

Erza advanced "We've looked for Natsu. You guys haven't seen him have you?"

Rogue and Sting looked at each other before facing Erza again. Rogue spoke "no sorry. Is he missing?"

Wendy nodded sadly.

Sting approached Wendy and stroked her hair "don't worry. I'm sure he's fine. We'll keep an eye out for him."

They talked for a while before a deafening yell filled the air around them.

"Weendyyy!" A small flying figure yelled as he approached the group. It only took them a few seconds to recognize that voice and shape.

"Wendyy!" The blue cat flu as fast as he could, throwing himself in Wendy'a arms.

"Happy! It's so good to see you." Her eyes widened when she saw what state the exceed was in "Oh my, Happy, what happened? How did you get injured like this? Let me heal you right now!" Wendy put him on the ground and started summoning her magic.

Happy sobbed. He looked so pale and his body was covered with cuts and bruises. "No! There is no time!"

"Happy what happened? How did you get this hurt?" Carla flu next to him.

"What happened? Where is Natsu?" Erza demanded as she walked over to him, along with the two other slayers and their exceeds.

"Natsu...*sob*... Natsu is... he's hurt. They have him. They're hurting him. I didn't know what else to do. I escaped when I got the chance and tried to find help... I don't know if he's still alive. Please! Help him!" He pleaded before his vision blackened and passed out.

Everyone stood shocked at what they had just heard.

"Dammit! I knew something was wrong. I hoped I was wrong but now." Erza said in frustration and anger. The Sabertooth mages stepped away from her, not wanting to be caught in her anger firmly.

"Happy's badly hurt, and extremely exhausted. Both magically and physically. He needs rest. We have to go back to the guild." Wendy said as she took Happy in her arms and stood up.

"We have to rescue Natsu as soon as possible. By the Happy talked he could be in grave danger." Erza said as she clenched her fists.

"Happy's the only one who knows where he is. We have to wait till he's well enough to answer." Wendy stated.

"Let's go find the others and then we'll go report to the guild and get Happy to Porlyusica." Erza declared as she began walking.

"We'll try to find as many clues as possible till Happy wakes up. We'll report if we find anything" Sting announced as he and Rogue and the exceeds left

The group joined the rest of the mages and began d explaining what Happy has told them. They were all shocked and surprised.

"No way. Natsu..." Lucy held her hands to her mouth in shock.

"And here we thought everything was fine. Dammit!" Gray expresses in frustration.

The mages took the train back to Magnolia. Before going to the Guildhall, they went by Porlyusica's to help Happy treat his injuries. Wendy stayed with her while the others went to the guild. Once they arrived, they explained the situation to Makarov and the rest of the guild.

To say they were shocked was an understatement. They were left speechless. Makarov cursed himself, regretting not going after him sooner. The only hope they had was to wait for Happy to wake up.

"Master, Happy looked like hell. He said something about escaping. Wherever Natsu is, it can't be good. Happy even stated that he wasn't sure if Natsu was still alive. Master! We have to go now! Before it's too late" Erza shouted. It seemed unlike her. She would never yell at her master but now...

"Erza please listen. I'm as worried as you are right now. I regret not going after him sooner but, if we look for him now, we'll be going on an empty trail. The moment Happy tells us where he is, we'll go. For now, we just have to have patience. Trust me when I say that it's hard for me to just sit here and wait but it can't be helped. So please, do not go after him yet." Makarov frowned and looked down at his beer. It pained him to see that Happy and Natsu were hurt. The thing that most troubled him was that he didn't even think of the possibility that he might've been in such a situation.

Erza gritted her teeth and left the Guildhall, not bearing to just sit and wait. She went off in the Porlyusica's house direction, hoping to be the first to hear about his friend's whereabouts form Happy.

Back at the Guildhall, Gray and Lucy sat quietly at a table, both looking troubled and probably as frustrated as Erza for getting answers.

"Dammit! We just had to ignore his disappearance. We should've gone look for him sooner. Who knows what he's going through right now?!" Gray yelled, angry for not acting sooner.

"We didn't know. But I understand. I'm angry at myself for letting this happen. Happy said he might be dead. You don't think..." she couldn't hold the tears anymore, after thinking that her friend might be very much dead at this very moment. Gray slammed his fists at the table.

The guild was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Nobody dared express joy in this grim situation. They didn't want to imagine the worst but some couldn't help it.

Two days later

It was around noon and sun heated the streets of Magnolia, as people enjoyed the summer heat but also became quite tired from the hotness of the sun.

At Porlyusica's, Happy lied down on a bed, while Wendy talked with the healer. The blue Exeed's eyes flickered open. He suddenly moved, ignoring the pain, making his presence known to the others.

"Happy!" Wendy shouted happily, hugging the Exceed. She was careful not to put too much pressure on him. His body was minorly injured.

"What happened?" Happy questioned as he looked around, trying to understand his surrounding.

"You passed out. You were badly injured and very exhausted. You're lucky you found Wendy and the others before losing consciousness." Carla said.

Happy suddenly got up, stumbled, losing his balance on his two feet. He was still exhausted, but he decided to temporarily ignore it. "Wendy! You have to save Natsu! He's in trouble! Please!" He pleaded.

"Happy, let's go to the guild. There you can explain to everyone what happened to you and Natsu. Let's go!" Wendy announced as she took Happy, and left the healer's house.

In the Fairy Tail Guildhall, the rowdy guild was surprisingly quiet.

The doors flew open as Wendy with Happy in her arms, along with a flying Carla entered. Without any hesitation, Wendy walked to Makarov at the bar. Her guildmates began to gather around her and Happy.

"I'm glad you are doing better Happy. You look mostly healed, but you must still be exhausted." Makarov smiled. Wendy put him on the counter. "Erza and the others explained what you told them back at Crocus. We need to know were Natsu is. But first, tell us what happened over the past year. What happened to the two of you?" Makarov questioned.

Happy looked down, bearing sadness in his eyes. He then began explaining. "Well, a year ago, we went off to train. It was fine at the beginning. Then, Natsu started suspecting that someone was following us but couldn't really find a scent. More like a premonition. Anyway, it was fine until the day some people showed up. When Natsu went hunting, they captured me, so that they could lure Natsu in a trap. They really wanted to take him. They were strong and heavily armed. I'm not even sure they were mages. Natsu started fighting them. After they used me to get him to surrender. It was because of me that they got him" Happy said while tears began forming in his eyes. Wendy hugged him, trying to comfort him. He then continued " They took the two of us to some sort of weird building. They separated me from him and the crazy women in charge of the place made me stay with him. They chained Natsu and locked him up. And that's when they began torturing him." Happy broke down in tears.

The others appalled and became startled after hearing their blue friend.

"Tortured...? You've gotta be kidding me" Gray said in whispers.

"No way..." Mira muttered while she held her hands to her mouth, shocked and saddened after hearing that.

Makarov frowned and clenched his fists, looking ready to explode in pure rage." please continue" he voiced in a low tone.

Happy nodded "I'm not sure how much time has passed since we've been there. There is no more time to explain. Please, we have to go get him. I don't know how much time he has left before..." he sobbed.

"Happy, we need to know more so we could come up with a good plan" Makarov insisted, stopped when he saw Happy in pain. "It hurts. I can't tell you more. I'm so sorry" He trembled and shut his eyes close.

"What is that?" Levy asked while looking at the thing that appeared on Happy's stomach and causing him pain. "It's a seal. It's supposed to not let me talk too much about the place. It hurts. I'm really sorry I can't tell you more."

"Master! We have to go get him now! There's no time to waste" Erza yelled, having lost all patience. They all looked at Makarov, awaiting his orders.

"Happy, how strong are they?" He asked.

"I don't know about man strength but they have arms and strong equipment. They were able to subdue Natsu to some point. Master, they're a military guild. " Happy replied, clenching his fists.

"I've heard military guilds are supposed to be really strong. But they also answer to the crown and the magic council. They're not a dark guild. So why would they take Natsu?" Cana questioned. Whispers could be heard, all agreeing with Cana's reasoning. Happy looked away.

Makarov jumped down the barstool and his expression turned into a determined one.

"No more sitting around. Let's go, rescue our family!"

* * *

Elsewhere

In the depth of a forest, hidden from the outside world, resides a building in the form of a fortress.

In this obscure structure, in the center of a large room, was a man with chains covering and piercing through his body, holding him still.

We say man, but he looked more of a beast than a human. Parts of his body was covered in scales, but in that dark room, the most visible feature was his wings and claws, along with horns coming out of his pink locks.

Inside that dark room, the eyes suddenly opened as the sound of doors opening and shutting came. The eyes shone a golden light, pupils slit, looking like the eyes of a beast. Similar to the eyes of a raged dragon.

A woman who looked like she was in her twenties, walked inside and approached the chained figure. The golden eyes followed her movement as she put a hand on his burning cheek. She gently stroked it and smiled.

"Soon enough. You will be complete. I will make you feel despair like you've never felt before. That will end whatever humanity you have left."

The man glared darkly, his eyes filled with rage and agony alike. Showing pain, fury, wrath, and suffering.

After having spoken those few words, she slowly made her way out, leaving him behind, bound by chains.


	2. A dragon’s Abyss

**A dragon's Abyss**

A mix of screams and piercing roars filled the arena. The fighting had lasted for more than thirty minutes. It was one of the rare ones. The bodies clashed as one last agonizing scream echoed in the air.

A corpse was lying in a pool of its own blood. Another figure stood right above it. He looked down, his eyes holding grief and sadness in them as if regretting his own doing. He didn't stay long. A few minutes later, he left the arena.

As he walked back to his room, he thought about his life before all this. He couldn't face anyone like this. Not after all he had done. He was afraid of what the future held. Afraid of striking fear in the hearts of those he once called family.

Instead of going to his room, which was located on the top floor, he decided to take a detour. He went to the left wing of the ancient structure and arrived in front of two large doors. He opened them without warning and entered. A blond woman was sitting at a desk, seemingly reading a book, as her eyes then turned to the boy nearing her.

"Ah Natsu, nice match today. Is it just me or are you starting to enjoy yourself?" The woman asked scornfully as she smirked.

"The only one I'm gonna enjoy ripping its head off is you." The pink haired boy scowled, venom dripping from his words.

"Aww, I really thought you would've given up on that idea by now. I even feel like you're starting to like me" She fake pouted which then transformed into a devilish smile.

Natsu approached her and slammed his hands harshly on the table and growled "Cut the crap! Where's Happy?"

"Oh don't worry. He'll be back soon enough. He's fine if that's what you're wondering. He's just running an errand for me. That's all" Her expression turned into a serious one and then returned back to her book.

Natsu, not seeing the point in staying, left the room without another word. This time, he returned to his room. His room was somewhat of a strange one. It had a bed and other human necessities. But most of it was an empty space. That was when the chains come in. That's where they do most of their 'experiences' with him. Some would call it Torture, but they call it the practices that would bring out the inner essence.

The things they did here would be considered torture but not the usual kind.

Since the day he came here, their activities evolved around him fighting, draining magic, or other potions and equipment that would push his body to its limit. It worked.

He wasn't human anymore. At least not entirely human.

They would constantly drain his magic or pour magical energy into his body, causing him to go on overload and develop his primal core. Later on, they started making him fight. Fight to the death. He had to kill. At first, he refused. Whatever they did he pushed back. However, after some time, he gave in. His instincts overpowered him and he judged best to kill than let them suffer. He was at an impasse. Either he gave them a quick and painless death, or they would suffer. The people here tortured his opponents to death. After a while, he couldn't bear it anymore. Even if it went against his own principles.

He had lost track of how long he had been here. It seemed like so long ago since he stepped outside.

His body was so different from the one he had before coming here. His figure was covered in dark scales, crimson horns showing from his hair, dark-colored bat-like wings on his back, with a red interior, and crimson colored claws instead of his ordinary nails. A dark colored tail could be seen at his back. Other than that, not all parts of his body had scales. Skin still showed but one thing that was not previously there were the markings. Blood-red mixed with golden color dragon tribal emblems, covered his body, mostly the parts with scales. The only piece of clothing he had was his baggy pants. They took away his scarf and the start and he was now unaware of its location.

They were very clear on their objectives. This whole year, the only thing they were aiming was creating a dragon. Turning Natsu into a dragon. And it was working.

Some soldiers appeared in front of him. Before he had any time to react, they shot him and dragged him away.

Natsu's mind

_ Lying in a pool of his own blood, pinned to the ground, metal piercing through his skin and scales. The scent of blood filling his nostrils as the liquid covered his whole body and coming out of his mouth. _

_The pain at this point had become numb. Having every bit of strength leaving his body, not even feeling his magic anymore._

_In his half-open eyes, as he stared into nothingness, filled with rage and loathing, but deep down, a glimpse of despair showed._

_How much longer do I have to wait? Why am I so helpless? I wanted to protect everyone, so why?_

From there, it all went blank.

Reality

He woke up by excruciating pain. It didn't take long for him to realize what was going on. It was all too familiar.

He was once again in his room, chains going through his body. Once again, a woman was standing in front of him, a few feets away from him. She looked at him while bearing an emotionless expression.

"You've been unconscious for a day. Did you really wanna escape Reality that bad?" The blond women spoke.

Natsu gave a low growl, not having the energy to speak, nor did he want to. He glared weakly at the woman.

"It's so close now. I can feel it. Such a beautiful creature, just look at these symbols and scales" She touched the scales where the markings were.

"I honestly don't know why you're so against this. If I could myself, I would gladly accept my fate of becoming into these majestic creatures. However, I know I can never achieve that. A second generation dragon slayer can never become one. Unlike you, we don't have a dragon seed. Tell me Natsu, why do you keep rejecting it?"

Natsu's glare softened and looked down "It's not so much that I hate becoming a dragon. My dad was one. Of course, I'm not too thrilled but I will keep resisting. I know you have the ability to control dragons. The same way that Rogue who came from the future could. I will never let myself be controlled by anyone. Certainly not by you, Likhia" Natsu's eyes now held determination and fire.

Likhia gave a dark grin, as she brought her face closer to Natsu's. She whispered in his ears. "Natsu, you better listen and listen well, I have watched you for a long time now. I watched you even before you came here. For as long as I can remember, I studied dragons and dragon slayers. I know details that some would dream to know about these creatures. Out of all the dragon slayers, you're the only one that could dragonize. Do you know why? I found out that you're not human, to begin with. You already had the dragon seed and also a demon seed. I don't know how but you do. Because these two collide, your body is incapable of being the two at the same time. So I'm just going help the dragon seed advance. I've waited for a long time and you Natsu, won't be the one to keep me from getting to my goal. So stop with the damn resisting." She then started walking away from the chained dragon slayer. She glanced one last time and then looked at the soldiers "Drain till the very last drop." She ordered and left.

It only took a few seconds for the air to be once again with the sound of roars and shrieks of pain, as the soldiers laughed at his suffering.

* * *

The Fairy Tail Mages walked through the rocky path. The sun had begun to set and they decided to rest for the night and continue on their mission the next day.

After starting a campfire, they all sat around it. Happy sat quietly on Lucy's lap. Wendy had already fallen asleep next to Carla. Gray had his eyes closed as he leaned on the mountain wall. Erza was deep in her thoughts, mostly worried for Natsu's sake, trying to come up with a plan. That was a problem since they were lacking a lot of information. Then there was also Gajeel who was busy talking with Lily.

Lucy turned her head and looked at the troubled Erza. She too was concerned for her friend but refused to imagine the worse. She believed in Natsu and his friends were coming for him. She then looked at Happy, who had fallen asleep. He was still hurt and that the fact that he couldn't tell them anything must be hard for him.

"Hey Erza, are military guilds strong? I mean just by the name I can guess some characteristics they would have but still, stories are sometimes exaggerated."

Erza, who was snapped out of her thoughts, looked at Lucy with a frown "Military guilds are more of a mystery. There aren't a lot of them around and their presence is kept a secret from the public eye. But one thing for sure, they are strong and their strength is unknown. That's what complicates things. The master has already gone talking to the council about this. They aren't part of dark guilds and no matter how strong they are, they aren't allowed to just kidnap a mage from a light guild. They have some explaining to do. But I will make them pay and will make sure they get the punishment they deserve for hurting a comrade." She announced her eyes darkening and full of desires for retribution, which honestly kind of scared Lucy.

She gulped and mumbled to herself "Good thing I'm not on Erza's bad side. That guild won't know what hit them"

"You're worrying too much. Salamander won't go down easily. Give him more credit" Gajeel stated while Lily nodded, agreeing with his partner.

"Gajeel's right. Natsu's tough. He won't let them break him." Panther Lily backed up Gajeel's statement. He was shocked when he saw Happy in tears. "Happy, what's wrong?"

Everyone then looked at Happy who sobbed as he mumbled something that even the dragon slayers couldn't hear him. Lucy looked down at her lap, where the blue Exceed was seated "Is it about Natsu? Don't worry, we'll save him. He'll be alright."

Happy shook his head as he sobbed "He doesn't have long. We have to get there before it's too late." Those were the only words he said for the rest of the night. Leaving everyone in a concerned state, not sure what was awaiting them.

The next day, they went back on the road, walking at a fast pace, to get to their destination faster as they were running out of time. They continued walking for a few more days as they slowly approached their final stop.

"Guys, we're almost there. The guild members are gonna show up soon. They'll try to stop us." Happy stated as he flew next to Erza.

"We'll be prepared. They won't stand in our way" She said as she summoned a sword.

"Some soldiers ain't enough to stop me," Gajeel said as he cocked his head, smirking.

Gray followed them silently. He didn't want to show it but he was worried for the pink haired dragon slayer. From the moment he joined the guild, they had become rivals and were almost like brothers at this point. And the things Happy said didn't exactly reassure him of Natsu's condition.

Wendy, Carla, and Lucy also walked silently, determined to save their friend and get him out of whatever hell hole he was in.

As she walked, Erza thought of the conversation she had with Gajeel a few nights before.

Flashback

_Erza was sitting by a tree, resting as Gajeel suddenly appeared in front of her._

_"Come with me. I need to tell ya something" he said as he leads her into a spot where they couldn't be heard._

_He started speaking "I don't trust the cat. Something ain't right here. I can smell it. He's hiding something and it just doesn't feel right. He might be up to something. I want you to keep an eye out. Let's follow him for now but be prepared if something goes wrong" _

_Erza thought about it for a minute. It's true that Happy wasn't acting like himself but she couldn't really blame him. His friend was in danger. If Gajeel suspects something, it might be best to be careful just in case something does go wrong. She nodded in agreement and decided to watch Happy carefully from now on, hoping that Gajeel's suspicions are going to turn out wrong._

End of flashback

They approached the walls of the fortress, where their friend was being held. They continued walking when suddenly Wendy stopped in her tracks

"What's wrong?"

"Someone's here" She spoke as she took a fighting stance. The others followed.

Soldiers and mages came out of the dark circles. Some were holding staffs, while others had swords in hand along with other weapons.

"You people are trespassing. You get one warning before we strike. Leave now!" A man came out behind the soldiers, dressed in formal attire. He was one of the commanding generals.

"If you think we're leaving without our friend, you have another think coming." Lucy retorted.

"Your friend... I see you must be _his_ friends. You should still-" before he could finish, a woman suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Likhia walked closer to the group of mages. "Now now, why are you sending them away? I was waiting for them so patiently. I'm sure Natsu will be very happy to see his friends." The soldiers moved out of the way as she motioned for them to follow her.

Seeing as she would lead them to him, they decided to follow her while being on guard.

Erza advanced "Are you the one in charge of the place?" Likhia just smiled when she suddenly stopped and looked at Happy. The look in her eyes was enough for Happy to know what he must do. He flew to her as she caught him in her arms and held him.

The group was shocked after seeing that, well for the exception of Gajeel and Erza. They were surprised but they expected something like that.

"Happy?! What are you doing? Why did you..." Lucy stuttered in surprise and unbelief.

The blue Exceed faced away, not bearing the look of betrayal of his friends. Likhia smirked "Don't blame the poor guy. He was just doing what he was told. He brought you here as per my orders. Such an obedient pet. " she then started walking again "Now follow me. You do want to see your friend don't you?"

"Why you...how dare you make Happy do something like that?!" Lucy glared at the woman, while she just ignored the celestial mage.

They followed her into a large arena as they finally arrived at the center of it. She stopped her back facing the others.

"I've been patient for so long now. I will finally achieve my goals. I think I will enlighten all of you on my plans." She turned to face the others as she started explaining.

"First of all, don't even try to use your magic. The arena cancels out all magic. Now let's get on to the main event. You're all part of my plans." She violently threw Happy to the floor next to the other mages. The mere force of her throw injured him even more than before.

"Happy!" They shouted in unison as Wendy took him in her arms as she glared at the woman.

"Give us Natsu back! I'll make you personally pay for hurting our family. Now, where is he?!" Erza yelled in anger and hatred.

"My my. So demanding. Are you blind? You're in no position to demand things of me. However, you will be seeing him soon enough."

The group stood and glared at Likhia. She just smirked. The air made the mages uneasy as the aura around the women darkened. She then opened her mouth "I should probably explain my plans and how you all are involved in it. You see, you're here for one purpose. I need all of you to die" she announced.

The fairy tail mages looked at her with widened eyes as they heard her words. They stood frozen. They all shivered when they saw the deranged and evil look in her eyes.

"But... you need to die by Natsu's hands" she gave a wide grin. Anyone who would meet this woman would think that she's insane. Perhaps she was.

"You're...joking, right?" Gray spoke in disbelief. He then let out a laugh "do you actually believe he'll hurt us?"

"Oh, I don't Believe. I know he will"

Erza, Gray, Gajeel glowered at her as their aura turned dark, wanting nothing more than just beat her up, while the others appalled, Happy more than everyone, knowing how she could make Natsu do something like that.

"Bring him in" She ordered, a few seconds later, some soldiers dragged a chained boy behind them into the arena.

Everyone there in exception of Likhia and Happy was horror-struck, after taking in the image of their friend as the guards brought him in. They looked at his dragon-like and unconscious figure and just realized how grave the situation actually was.

"Unchain him and let me take care of the rest" she approached the unconscious form.

Happy was able to snap himself out of his frozen state "Guys...we have to run. Without magic, you won't be able to stop him." He muttered, getting the attention of his friends.

"First of all, you can't run, but he is right. You _don't_ stand a chance against him. You see, I just finished putting several seals that will activate as soon as he's awake. These seals have one purpose. They will put him a feral state, where he won't even be able to recognize his dear friends." Her expression then turned into an indifferent one.

"Why would you do this? Why are you making him kill us?" Wendy yelled, demanding answers.

"I'm glad you asked. You see, once he does kill you all, he'll wake up to the sight of the ones he holds dear, dead in front of him. As if that's not going to break him enough, he'll remember that he's the one who put you to your grave and that's when it'll happen. He'll fall into absolute despair, lose all purpose and then, his rage will fuel his power and push the dragonification to its limit and finally become a dragon. A dragon that will solely be under my control." She started laughing like a maniac, having the malevolent look on her face as she finished.

Wendy felt tears falling onto her cheek, as she stood there frozen, imagining her friend ending her life and becoming a monster. Happy also held tears in his eyes, just standing there horror-struck. Carla and Lily clenched their teeth.

Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Lucy were infuriated. Their eyes only held fury and hatred and held a look that would make anyone crawl to their knees if they were confronted with it.

"You're going to break him! Haven't you done enough!? Stop this madness or I'll swear that you won't escape with your life!" Erza yelled as she glowered at her.

"Of course I'm going to break him. The only thing left will be a shell of his former self. Nothing of him will remain." Likhia gave an evil smirk as she started walking out of the arena. She approached Natsu and kicked him awake. Then she left to go enjoy the show from afar. "Kill them all"

"Oh no, you don't! You're not leaving here before you turn him back to normal" Gray ran after her but was stopped when he hit an invisible barrier, separating him from Likhia.

All attentions were turned suddenly to Natsu when he let out a loud roar. He clutched his head as he tossed himself around, crying in pain. After a while, he stopped and seemingly calmed himself. They all shivered when they saw his eyes. They glowed in crimson light, as his vision was quickly overcome by bloodlust. He saw nothing but red. He hissed and growled at them as he finally stood up. He let out a piercing roar, showing his fangs and the vicious look he had on.

"Dammit! We're basically here for the slaughter" Gajeel git in a fighting stance, ready to fight him even with the lack of his magic. So did the others.

"We're supposed to fight him?! Like this?" Lucy furrowed her eyebrows in worry and concern.

"Do we even stand a chance?" Lily asked, trying to find a solution but coming up with none. Gajeel just glared at him while Gray also got ready to fight.

Before anyone could answer, Natsu lunged forward, claws ready, try to cut through whatever he could. He aimlessly attacked and his only goal in mind that his instincts were pushing him to it was to kill whatever stood in his way. And that's exactly what he did. One attack after another, he let out roars and fought them. The only thing that his friends were able to do at this point was to try and avoid getting hit.

"Good thing he's not using magic. That would've been worse than now" Lily commented.

"I'm not sure how worse are situation can really get. Guys, I think we should try and snap him out of it. I don't know, call out his name. Anything at this point" Lucy voiced, she panted from running and dodging. Natsu hissed as out of nowhere, he appeared in front of Lucy, harshly crashed her against the barrier.

"Lucy!" Happy yelled. She let out a cry of pain and winced as she tried to get back up.

"Natsu! Wake up! This isn't you, we're your friends. Come on, let's go back to Fairy Tail. Let's go back home" Lucy vocalized, hoping her words would have an effect on him. But it was just a useless attempt as he continued on his rampage.

"Oi Flame-brains! Snap out of it! Come on man, don't let that bitch control you" Gray declared but he instead, just made himself into his target "Crap"

The attacks led on and injuries added to each of their bodies. None were grave or fatal but they were quickly tiring out. Natsu however, the more time passed, the more his power increased. He became more brutal with each attack. Gajeel was able to deliver one punch, making Natsu grunt in pain, but nonetheless, making himself the next victim.

Natsu could only see red. All his mind was filled with a voice, telling him to kill, to rip them to shreds, tear them limb by limb... He raged on with the ferocity of a beast, leaving the humans in front of him helpless.

"There's no way he's gonna hear us. Salamander's completely lost it. The best chance we've got is escaping this place before he gets to us." Gajeel slammed himself against the barrier, trying to break it. But it didn't even budge "Tch"

"Maybe we can still reason with him. We just have to get through him" Wendy suggested, holding hope that they would save their friend. She didn't know how wrong she was.

Natsu kept on striking, while the others were looking more and more debilitated, their bodies covered with cuts and bruises, blood pouring out of their wounds. He flew up and hit them with whatever strength he could conjure, using his tail to deal hard blows, causing them even more pain.

"That bitch! How dares she do something like this to Natsu!? It'll kill him if he finds out that he's doing all this. I..." Lucy gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists together in frustration and anger.

"Guys...I'm not sure... how much longer I can fight" Wendy panted as she put one knee on the floor, using her hands as support.

"Wendy you can't give up. He will kill you if he gets the chance" Carla ran towards her.

"I know but...I don't have any strength left..."

"Wendy you have to- Aahhh" Carla cried in pain as she was launched brutally away from Wendy.

"Carla!" She yelled.

A figure shadowed her, as she looked into those crimson eyes, and her whole body started to tremble in fear. She stared at the monster in front of her with wide eyes, holding nothing than terror and panic in them. She was there, horrified, as she closed her eyes shut, awaiting the death blow. Natsu prepared his claws and plunged forward aiming straight for her heart.

"Wendy!"

Instead of feeling pain, she felt a liquid splattering at her. She flickered her eyes opened and terror struck her as she saw the raven-haired boy, standing in front of her, with Natsu's claws piercing through his stomach. He coughed up some blood, solidified in place, fell to the floor with a cry of pain as Natsu removed ruthlessly his hands from his body.

A pool of blood formed around Gray's unconscious form. Wendy dropped to her knees "Oh my god...No no Gray. Why did you..." tears streamed down her face as she tried to shake him awake.

"Gray!" The others joined her, panic all over their expressions, fearing the worse. Gajeel examined the body "He's still alive. But his breathing is shallow. At this rate, he won't make it"

From the video lacrima in the other room, Likhia let out a smirk "One down. I feel like it's gonna be quick from this point on."

Natsu looked at the group hovering around the one he struck. He got ready to lunge at them again but was stopped in his tracks when a sudden pain took over his mind. He fell to the ground as he clutched his head tightly, letting out low roars of agony. The mages looked away from Gray to the dragon slayer, not sure of what was happening at that moment.

"What's...going on?" Lucy voiced, still devasted from the state that Gray was in because of him. She couldn't help but feel angry at him. Her emotions along with the others present there were taken over by sadness and despair.

Gray slightly opened his eyes, looking over at his friends, and then looking with a blurry vision at Natsu.

"Gray! You're awake. Thank goodness." Erza smiled at his friend.

"Whatever you do, don't lose you're conscious. Gray, why did you do that? He could've killed you!" Wendy yelled.

"You're family. Of course,... I would try to save you. Even if it... kills me." He weakly voiced.

"Stop talking. You're losing too much blood. If only I could use my magic." Wendy held her head down.

All their attention suddenly turned to the howling dragon slayer, who was taken over by pain and clawed his head, now blood dripping from his hair and face.

"What do you think happened?" Lucy asked but received no response as they were all silently watching him.

They all froze when a sudden wave of magical energy passed through them. His body engulfed in fire and kept on growing bigger. The whole arena got wrapped in flames when the barrier suddenly started to crack. It only took a few seconds for it to completely shatter.

* * *

From the video lacrima, Likhia watched, astonished and amazed, and a wide smile grew on her face.

"We should stop them" A soldier announced but was stopped when a hand extended in front of him, motioning for him to not move.

"But why?"

"This is what I have been waiting for. Do not dare to interfere" She ordered then returned to watch the show.

* * *

"I can feel my magic now. I'll start healing Gray" Wendy happily announced as she started doing her magic.

Erza re-equipped into her 'Flame Empress Armor' and Lucy summoned Leo. Gajeel didn't wait. He ran towards a grounded Natsu and delivered an iron club to his gut. He was thrown a bit back as he grunted in pain.

Natsu's vision became clearer as all bloodlust left his mind. His eyes returned to its golden color and the flames started to die down.

He looked around, trying to make sense of his surrounding. The scent of blood filled his nostrils and his gaze fell on his hands, as they were covered in blood. Then, his eyes turned to the people present in the area. His eyes widened in panic and terror, as he stood horrified when he saw what state they were in. He stood there frozen, at that moment, the memories of what had occurred came back to him and he overcame by guilt. The guilt of what he had done, of hurting his friends, intent to kill his own family.

He still stood there, appalled while he thought back to his actions. His gaze then turned to the armored mage, running towards him with a sword in hand. "Er..za" He murmured. It had been so long since he had seen any of them, in the exception of Happy. The way they were reunited was wrong.

The scarlet girl stopped when she heard her name coming from his mouth "Natsu" _Is that really him? His eyes aren't red anymore, but... _

That's when they all realized he wasn't attacking anymore and seemed to have calmed down. He looked at his hands and the blood of his friends made him sick to the core. "What did I do? No no no no no..." he shook his head in disbelief and he uttered.

"Natsu?!" Happy approached him, the moment he did, Natsu backed away, in fear of hurting them again.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Why? Why? Why did this have to happen?! He shouted as he clawed himself. The others watched their friend, who was now back to himself, harm his own body. They realized that that's what the women meant when she talked about 'despair'.

Natsu kept looking at them._ I hurt them. I tried to kill them, my friends. I tried to kill my family. It's my fault. The look in their eyes, it was only fear. They fear me, they have every right too. I don't deserve them anymore. I'm just a monster. _"I'm a monster. I'm just a monster. I'm horrible. I did this. I...I..." he mumbled but loud enough for them to hear him. Lucy, not bearing to hear Natsu talk about himself in that manner, decided to act on it and put aside her fear.

"Natsu! You're not a monster and you will never be one! We came for you! Let's go home" She voiced, worried about him. She has never seen him in such state and it truly shocked her to see him like that.

"You lie. I'm just a bloody monster." His eyes then suddenly turned blank. Only one thing overwhelmed his mind. "I'm going to kill her. I'll rip out her heart. I'll burn her. I'll make her suffer..." he continued with his mumbling.

"Oi Salamander! We came here to get you out of this place. We're leaving right now" Gajeel announced and stomped towards him, stopped when Natsu burst out in flames. The color of the flames was no longer it's usual. Instead of orange, they were blood-red, black with a glimpse of orange in them. He started walking out of the arena and headed straight for his prey.


	3. Fury

**Fury**

Everything surrounding him was made black and red. With every step, he took the aura surrounding him darkened. Until it was no longer recognizable.

That innocent, idiotic and happy boy, was no more. Instead, a form consisting of only malice, hatred, regret, and disgust, exited the area, heading in only one way. The way that would lead to his prey.

His friends watched in fright, as the friend they once knew was following the darkest of paths, entering a world that either one of them recognized.

They wanted to stop him, help him, support him, but they only stayed there, frightened of the aura surrounding the pink haired boy.

"Natsu!" Lucy called out, trying to get his attention. She was quickly ignored as the dragon slayer didn't even budge and left.

"This is bad. How's Gray?" Erza looked over at Wendy, who seemed like she could pass out at any moment now.

Wendy weakly turned her gaze at Ezra and gave a small smile "I treated his lethal wound but he did lose a lot of blood. He shouldn't move for a while. I'll continue on..." she wasn't able to finish her sentence when she lost unconscious. Carla got her and laid her next to Gray's unconscious form.

They weren't in a good situation. Two of their friends were out, one almost died, while another one of their friends was completely overcome by obscurity.

"You guys go. Carla and I will watch over these two. We don't know what Natsu's gonna do next. Go!" Lily insisted and so, Gajeel, Lucy and Erza, Happy sitting on her shoulders, trailed after the dragon slayer.

* * *

Natsu slowly climbed the stairs, his thought only focusing on different ways to make that woman pay for what she did. How she was going to suffer for everything she made him do over that year. He was going to enjoy every second of it, now that he had broken off every seal that was supposed to keep him in check. His expression was filled with rage and ferocity, as he scowled and thought of releasing all his wrath on that soul.

After crossing to the left wing of the somber fortress, he quickly made his way to her location. The more he got closer, the more he felt his magic growing and eager to be let loose and free to rampage. He was slowly losing all of his senses as his subconscious was taking over his entire being.

Voices once again filled his head. _Kill, kill, kill. Make her suffer for hurting your friends. Don't let her off easy. Don't make her death quick. Let her burn in your eternal flames. Enjoy her screams and cries, begging for mercy. Show none to her. She doesn't deserve it. Kill everyone she loves, and burn this place to the ground. Show her the ruthless monster that she created and make sure that she knows that she was the cause of her own downfall. _Whispers filled his mind and stopped the moment he arrived in front of the door, where the Likhia dwelled behind it.

Before he could enter, soldiers quickly surrounded him, blocking his path along with his escape route. Not that he wanted to flee. He looked over at them, seeing them like they were no more than just insects. He conjured his flames. None were expecting what they saw or felt. His form became cloaked with a mix of black and crimson flames and under that, two eyes radiated in a golden shine, holding nothing but murderous desires and the will of the slaughter of those who stood against him. The circle of the fire increased, he listened to the sound of agonizing screams as his enemies burned to their demise. It only took a few seconds for all the sounds and flames to die down, he kicked the corpses out of his way and opened the door.

At that moment, he seemingly looked calm and composed, the only thing disturbing was his eyes. They held such intensity that would strike horror and terror to their cores. He advanced and was confronted with Likhia, who was just having the same indifferent look on her face. That quickly changed when a wicked smile grew and her eyes reflected madness.

"I can see why you're angry right now and well, this time, I can't really blame you. I did make you attack your own friends. But still, it was for a greater purpose. Although I am kind of disappointed. I was really hoping you would kill them. Too bad, I guess but it's not too late." She said as she hopped down from the table she was sitting on.

Natsu stayed silent. His breathing got heavier and the heat radiating from his body got more intense than just a few minutes ago. Fire surrounded the tips of his horns, tail, and wings and the markings began to glow in their blood-red light. Golden tattoos spread from his heart to the rest of his body. It stopped middle way, not letting it increase because that would just mean that his dragonification will be complete. He continued giving her a death glare.

"Fierce aren't ya? Tell me Natsu, what are you going to do now that you have your full power at your disposal?" she cunningly looked at her with a smirk, awaiting his answer.

He kept staring at her until he decided to give her a response "I want only one thing. You're dead corpse along with every other person in this place, at my feet. But not until you pay for what you did to me" He voiced in a dark tone, which only made her smirk grow wider. She decided to ignore his wishes for now and get to what really matters.

"I know you can feel it. You can become a dragon at any second now. But you're pushing it back. You're forcing yourself to stay human. Why? Why deny all this power you can obtain. Don't hold back. You can cause this whole world to crumble at your feet. So why stop?"

Her words only fueled his anger even more "I don't want any of that. And don't worry. I won't hold back for long now. The only thing I need to do before that is to kill you and then, I'll be free." his expressionless face transformed into a dark grin "I know how much you wanted to see me as a dragon. And now, you'll never see it happen. I'll enjoy the look on your face when you realize that all your dreams will be shattered in a matter of seconds." He finished and flames started to encircle him, dancing around him, as he got ready to strike with all his might.

"You know, this will be the first time we'll be fighting seriously. I'm a fire dragon slayer and so are you. But you're more dragon than slayer at this point. I wonder if I'll be able to tame you, dragon." she taunted.

They continued on glaring at each other, but before long, Natsu deiced to make the first move and with fire in hand, he lunged at her with every intent on crushing her.

* * *

The group ran after Natsu, as they went through the dark corridors. Gajeel followed his scent.

Lucy, who was walking next to him, looked at him and saw that something was wrong. "Hey, Gajeel, why do you look so disgusted?"

He looked at her and hesitantly responded "The smell blood. It's so much. It's all around this place. Trust me, it doesn't smell nice."

"Blood..." She thought about how this place must've held a lot of prisoners over time, maybe some went through what Natsu did. She felt sad when she thought about all those who never escaped and how they must've suffered. Her thoughts were interrupted when Erza began to speak.

"There is something I've been wondering. Why did Natsu look like that? From what I've heard, all of you slayers transformation must've been stopped when they used that soul technique. So how come he's dragonizing?"

Gajeel and Lucy frowned, the dragon slayer also wondered how he became that and felt a little worried thinking that he might also go through it.

"I don't really know much except the things that Likhia told me. She said something about another seed other than the dragon seed being there. She said that these seeds clashed with each other, pushing both of them to grow. All she did to Natsu was to make the dragon seed go to its limit. She's obsessed with dragons and she even knows how to control one." Happy informed them. It was already clear to them that the woman was insane. But having this much power was just dangerous in her hands.

"She did this to him. I'll never forgive her. If we had just arrived sooner, we could've stopped all this." Erza mumbled, regretting not being able to do anything but watch.

They gasped when they were faced with the burned corpses of the soldiers. They knew it was Natsu's work and Gajeel had already heard the screams even before getting there. None of them thought he was capable of killing so many in such way or killing at all. They felt angry but they also knew that he wasn't himself in the least and couldn't truly blame him for his own actions.

"He's in there. I'm not sure if we go in." Gajeel said, earning raised eyebrows, questioning his words.

"Why not? We should go help him." Lucy retaliated, not understanding why they even had to discuss such things.

"First of all, we'll just get in his way. I know you can feel the magic power coming from there as much as I do. And then there is the matter of what just took place. You all scared of him" he announced.

It's true they had conflicted feelings right now. He attacked them with every intent to kill and he almost did. But they also knew that that wasn't him. "I'm not scared of him. That there wasn't him. We all know that-" Erza didn't finish her phrase as Gajeel interrupted."You're just lying to yourself. You think I didn't notice the looks on your faces when you saw this" he pointed at the bodies laying on the ground "I know you think that that wasn't him but this was him. I think he was conscious of his actions in this case." Gajeel finished.

Happy looked down, having seen his friend kill before, he believed Gajeel but the other two, they just seemed troubled and most of all disturbed. Erza's expression turned into an angered one as she completely ignored the dragon slayer and harshly flew the door open.

They entered the large room, where the two figures clashed. They immediately took a step back when they felt the intensity of the heat as fire cloaked almost all the place. They clashed one hit after another. This time, Natsu was completely aware of his fighting style, it was less brutal but more precise. Likhia looked more bruised and tired while Natsu seemed in a better condition.

"You really think your fire has an effect on me?" Natsu questioned as he flapped his wings, jumping in the air and seconds later landing a hit on her. She let out a grunt but that soon transformed into a laugh. "Oh come on, I don't know how you're hiding it this well but I know that you're in a heck of lot more pain than I am. While your fire has no effect on me, my flames hurt you. You know why? Because at this very moment, you're more a dragon than a dragon slayer and my fire is made to slay your kind. You don't stand a chance. I'm really losing my patience here Natsu. Just go through the damn transformation already!" She yelled at the end, frustrated of not going with her plans as she wanted to.

Natsu winced after feeling the after effect of her attacks. She was right. Her magic was more effective, but he still had his claws, tails and his physical strength would be enough to defeat her. He decided to stop using his flames, as it would nothing but help her in this situation. One blow after another, he delivered brutal attacks, not letting her rest in between. She wiped the blood away from her mouth as a smirk took its place again. That only angered Natsu crimson liquid spewed form their cuts.

"Natsu!" Happy yelled out, earning the attention of his friend, who glanced at him but quickly went back to his prey.

"Happy, don't get too close. You'll just get in the way" Gajeel said as he caught the blue Exceed by his tail and brought him down to him." But Natsu..."

Natsu glared daggers at her, he looked at her as a predator would a prey. "I'm going to kill you Likhia. You'll die by the hands of your precious experiment." he mouthed as he lunged forward, pinning her to the ground and hissed at her. She summoned a fireball and crashed it with his wing in self-defense, making him release her as he roared in pain. She quickly gained her composure, using the opportunity to equip some chains.

"I'm planning on taming you whether you wanted or not" She announced and wrapped the chains around his neck. He clawed the pieces of metal as his breathing circulation was being cut off. But she didn't stop there. She kept on tormenting him. As she pulled back the chains attached to Natsu's neck with one hand, making it harder for him to breath, she used her hand summon her flames and lead on a relentless attack, as she kept hitting him on his back, blood starting to trickle from his scaly spines. After a little while, she loosened her grip on the chains that were putting pressure on his throat, making sure she wasn't going to kill him.

"Stop this! Release him now!" Erza yelled, ran towards them with a sword in hand, ready to strike her in order to protect her friend. Likhia simply dodged the attack, still grinning. She was more than enjoying herself, despite the slight wait she had to endure.

Erza kneeled down next to Natsu, tried to reach him but end up burning herself. Natsu didn't even look at her as his gaze of hatred returned back on the blond woman, winced in pain as her attacks were taking its toll. He coughed and gasped for air as he knelt on the floor. His body wasn't in great shape, to begin with, and now, the exhausted and wounds were just adding to the long list. He heavily breathed, got back on his feet, ignoring the blurry vision he now had, and once again, launched at her carelessly.

Likhia then started grinning again as she evaded getting hit by Natsu "You're at your limit Natsu. I might not be the best dragon slayer around but my magic is especially effective on you. And I think you've forgotten a small detail here. This whole fortress is directly under my command and will obey my every order." she announced, and at that moment, iron bars, attached to thin chains, appeared out of the walls and descended directly on Natsu, impaling him as he was pinned to the floor. Blood began forming a pool around him, he shrieked in pain and weakly glared at her, being unable to do anything else, bound to the ground.

The other mages gasped in shock, as their friend just desperately tried to get up despite the iron poles going straight through him.

"No Natsu..." Lucy felt tears appearing in her eyes. She wanted to wake up so badly. From the moment they set foot here, all the events that had taken place, she wanted it all to be just a nightmare to wake up from. But the reality was at it is.

Then Likhia's attention turned towards the Fairy Tail Mages. "Well, I really hoped that you would be of use to me but it seems I was wrong. I don't need you anymore so you can all just die." She announced as soldiers and mages quickly surrounded them after the woman gave them the signal. They got into a fighting stance.

"Make sure they don't interrupt," she said as she made her way towards the grounded Natsu.

The mages were already tired from previously fighting Natsu and now, they had a large number of soldiers in front of them and they had to fight them off to be able to get to Natsu. They all summoned their magic and began attacking and defending.

Once they got past their weaponry, the soldiers weren't too hard to fight off.

"Gajeel, Lucy and I will take care of them. You're a dragon slayer and she is one as well. Your chances of winning are better than ours. Go help Natsu. Happy, I want you to go check on the others, tell them what's happening." Erza ordered and the two decided to not disobey, cause that would just end badly. Happy flew off and Gajeel dodged a few attacks and got past the guards.

He went straight for Natsu, still metals holding him down. "**Iron dragon's Roar**" The attack knocked Likhia away from Natsu and Gajeel promptly got to work and removed the metals and started eating it. It was a good refill and released his friends.

"You pests can't stay out if it can you? Why do you need to be so bothersome?" Likhia slowly advanced towards them.

"You're the one who brought us here, so if you wanna blame someone, blame yourself." Gajeel retorted, he then looked at Natsu, who stayed motionless on the ground "Salamander! Wake up! Oi, what the hell?" he shook him and still got no response. He couldn't hear his breathing anymore.

"What the hell did you do to him?" he shouted at Likhia, was shocked when he saw her standing there, terrified. She then dropped to her knees and murmured "No, that's not possible. Why isn't he breathing? He's not supposed to die. Natsu, wake up. You have no right to die on me. Not now. I''m too close to give up now" she crawled towards him started shaking him, hoping he would wake up "Wake up!" she yelled, her voice holding frustration and panic.

Erza and Lucy fought the last ones off and ran to them. They both became immediately alarmed when they saw Likhia in tears and Gajeel standing there frozen.

Erza looked at Gajeel for answers, the only thing she heard was words in whispers but that was enough to make her fear the worse "His heart stopped..."

Lucy dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face "Natsu...No...this wasn't supposed to happen. We were supposed to go adventures again back with everyone in Fairy Tail."

"What's going on?" a raven-haired boy, came panting at the door, using a transformed Lily as support, with Carla, Wendy, and Happy following.

"Natsu!" Happy flew and threw himself at his best friend, crying out.

"You did this! You..." Erza's aura darkened to a terrifying rate, as she summoned a sword and slowly made her way towards her.

Likhia however, did not budge. She stayed there, frozen on the spot, as her dreams were obliriated right in front of her. She was left defenseless, not even caring about what happened at this point. She just stood and stayed still, as if she was no longer present there as devastation took over.

Everyone was so caught up in their emotions. The feeling of anger, sadness, and even guilt filled their body. In the end, they weren't able to save their friend.

While everyone sobbed and sat there quietly, Erza still walked towards her. They were all brought back to reality when Natsu's body suddenly started to glow. A black mist started appearing, enveloping his body.

"Get away from him" Gray yelled, wincing at the sudden movement, snapping his friends out of their thoughts. They quickly put some distance between them and the dragon slayer.

Natsu's mind

_Everything was pitch black. Nothing could be seen through the depths of the abyss where he remained. _

_Am I dead? Is it over? No, it can't be. I wanna go back._

_Natsu walked through the dark halls, calling out to whoever could hear him. But he got no response._

_From afar, a source of light could be seen. He ran towards him and for what seemed like infinity, he finally reached that source. He entered a white opening. There was nothing but intense white light, shimmering the entire place._

_He stood there, wondering when suddenly, two ominous shaped things appeared in front of him. There were two seeds. _

_One gleamed in a mix of blood-red and black light, while the other one shone in a blazing orange and red, along with golden particles visible from it._

_What are these? _

_"**Let me enlighten you on what is before you**" _

_It was the same voice than before. From behind him, cloaked in a shadowy mist, a figure much resembling his own appeared and approached him. After the mist fainted, Natsu gasped as he saw a form, exactly like his. Well almost exactly like his. Instead of the tribal dragon markings, his were black tattoos snaked up his arms till it reached his eyes, and his eyes gleamed in a crimson light._

_"Who are you? And how the heck do you look like me?" _

_He stood there and smirked "**Well that's easy. I am you and you are me**" _

_Natsu just gave him a confused look._

_"**Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Etherious Natsu Dragneel, in short END**."_

_Natsu's eyes widened in shock, and unbelief "There's no way I'm END. that's a demon of Zeref. His strongest. I'm not a demon. I'm..."_

_"**You're just feeding yourself with lies. I know that you know that a part of you is a demon. That's why we're in this situation, to begin with**." _

_Natsu stood there, thinking about his words and found some truth in them. END just sat down, legs crossed and grinned at his other self._

_"**You know you're dying righ**t?" END asked cunningly. Natsu nodded._

_"I don't want to. I need to make her pay" Natsu replied earning a chuckle from his counterpart._

_"**Of course you don't. You see, you can still go back to the living, but... just not as a human. These seeds you see here, you need to choose one and become that. Either you become a dragon or a demon. The choice is yours**."_

_Natsu turned away from him and looked over at the glowing seeds. Losing his humanity didn't really appeal to him. He didn't want to. But he knew that he had to make a choice. And there was only one he rather become._

_"**Well, I'm gonna be honest with you. My personal favorite is the demon seed. And I know yours is the dragon one. But before you choose that, let me tell you some stuff about me**" END stood up and walked closer to Natsu. He sighed._

_"**As I already told you, I am you and you are me. We're one and the same and the demon seed is your true seed. You were a demon before that thing appeared. This will give you limitless power. Your enemies will now before you. If you choose the dragon seed, you'll be condemning a part of yourself. Well plus your humanity-"**_

_"You mean I'll be condemning you. I don't really see the problem with that" Natsu retorted._

_"**Oh, but at least you'll be in control of yourself, well kind of. That human wants to control you or have you forgotten that. You become a Dagon and you'll be giving her the satisfaction of having a dragon in her command. Do you truly want that? To spend the rest of your life slave to a pitiful human?**"_

_Natsu clenched his jaw, and looked down, wanting nothing more than just escape all this._

_"**Don't listen to him Natsu**!" A voice boomed, getting both of their attention. _

_"**T**_**_ch_**_" END narrowed his eyes and frowned "I and myself were having a good talk. Go back to whatever hell you came from" mouthed, his tone filled with disgust._

_A giant form appeared from the other side. Natsu's stared, at a loss for words, as he deco gnoses the all too familiar figure._

_"Igneel..." he whispered, tears gathering in his eyes. He never thought he would see his father again after being cruelly killed by the black dragon._

_Igneel's gaze turned towards his 'son', who was still shocked by seeing him. "**Natsu...I had really hoped for it to never get to this point. But it seems fate had other plans**."_

_"You're...alive..." he mumbled._

_"**No, this is whatever remains of me inside your mind and I don't have nearly enough time until it runs out. So I have to be quick. As END already mentioned you need to make a choice. But Natsu, something the didn't say was that if you choose the demon seed, you will merge with him. You two will become the same entity and that will forever change you-**"_

_"**Stop right there you overgrown lizard. You're forgetting to tell him that we were the same, to begin with. You and that damn brother of mine decided to split us up. We'll be basically becoming the real Natsu again.**" END interrupted, earning a snarl form Igneel._

_"Is it true?" Natsu looked at his dad, concern written all over his face._

_"**There is too much to tell with so little time. I'll let END fill you up on your history but that will have to wait for another time. You're getting closer to your death with each passing second. Natsu, I need you to know that you are strong enough to push back whatever that human is trying to make you do."** _

_"I wasn't able to do anything before. I tried to kill my own friends. What makes you think that I won't be killing innocents if she orders me too?" Natsu asked, clenched his fists in frustration and chagrin._

_"**I believe in you Natsu. Don't let anyone influence you. You're strong enough, maybe not right now but if you persevere, I am more than sure that you'll contrôle your instincts**." Igneel announced in confidence. _

_Natsu gave a sad smile and looked at his hands, still feeling the blood of his family on them. He frowned. His thoughts were interrupted when Igneel spoke again._

_"**Natsu, this form you're in right now is a combination of your demon, dragon and human form. When you return to reality, you will have only one. Whatever you choose I will respect, but know that whichever you become, you will change. That's an undeniable fact that you will have to accept.**" _

_END laughed "**Well I don't care either way. He's already set in his goals and decision. Plus, it's not gonna change anything. I'll be still here. So, how about I lend you a hand?**" He proposed as he smirked._

_Igneel snarled, "**Do you really think that he's going to be fooled that easy?! Don't make me laugh! The only thing you're interested in is taking control of his body!**" He retaliated to his suggested._

_"**Again, also my body. And yeah, of course, I want to be let loose a little. But right now, I'm willing to give him my power cause I honestly don't like the idea of my counterpart being contrôled by a pitiful existence. It just ruins my reputation. And plus, you and I know that a newborn dragon will not be able to keep his instincts in check. So, I help him push back that human's magic, and he won't become a mind slave. That easy!**" He said, shrugging._

_Igneel let out a sigh, seeing some truth in the demon's words._

_"**Well, Natsu? What are you going to do?**" Igneel asked the pink haired dragon slayer, waiting for his response._

_Natsu thought about it for a small while, he turned to face END "Fine, give me some power but don't you dare take control of my body or hurt my friends." _

_"**Stop worrying. I want nothing to do with them. But we will be merging for a little time. It won't last long so we have to kill her before you transform into a dragon. Got it?**" END raised an eyebrow. Natsu nodded in response._

_Igneel then turned to face Natsu. "**Announce your choice out loud. It was good seeing you again. Make me proud son!" "Oh and don't let this bastard influence you!**"_

_A tear fell from Natsu's eyes as he smiled_

_"I'll do my best. Bye dad"_

Back at the fortress

They stared at Natsu, who was still covered with black mist when he suddenly burst out in a light shine. They had to cover their eyes to avoid getting blind due to the intensity of light. Then flames began to form a cloak around him. These flames were different from before.

They were much warmer than before, but it soon changed when darkness took over. Black markings snaked up his arms and soon took over his whole body. One eye shone red while the other gleamed gold. His draconic figure also changed. The dark scales transformed into crimson and the blood red markings along with his horns changed into a golden color, mixed with the color of flames. All of the markings shone in their respective color.

He suddenly sat up as the mist disappeared and the flames remained only of the tip of his horns and tail.

Everyone gasped in joy, pleasantly surprised that he was still alive even after having his heart stopped.

Likhia shed tears of joy as his dragon was still alive. She stood there astounded, dumbstruck, as she admired his new form even more than before. "Natsu, I'm so glad you're alive. I was so-" She wasn't able to finish the sentence when Natsu lunges at her, claws ready.

"AAAHHHH-" she cried out in pain, when Natsu at a ridiculous speed, thrust his claws and pierced her chest. She gasped and coughed some blood. The fluid seeped from the wound. Natsu glowered, as he brutally took out his hand, ripping her heart out of her chest. He held her heart in his palms as the last beats died down. Moments after that, her corpse hit the ground, a pool of blood circling around the cadaver.

The other mages stood there petrified. That action traumatizes them to the core. Wendy, Carla, and Happy looked away, revolted as they all started feeling nauseous and sickened. They never imagined their friend committing such acts. Natsu's eyes held no remorse, he mercilessly ripped out someone's heart. None were able to speak. They just kept looking at him.

**"Your dream will never come to life. Go to hell Likhia and stay there and suffer there for all eternity" **Natsu spoke, his voice no longer sounding human, as he looked with disgust and hatred at the corpse. His eyes were so cold, held nothing but loathing and detestation in them.

"Natsu..." Happy slowly walked towards him, stopped halfway when Natsu shot him a penetrating gaze, making him a take a step back.

Natsu's eyes shot open when an excruciating pain hit his entire body, and the sound of bones shattering along with flesh being torn apart filled the air. He let out a deafening roar, a roar after another, more bones were crushed and soon enough the black markings disappeared and the golden and orange ones shone even more brightly than before. He thrashed his head from side to side, clutching his chest as agony replaced all senses in his body.

"We need to get out. This is bad. He's transforming. Get out now before we get caught in the middle of his changing!" Gajeel yelled it took a few minutes for the information to sink in but when it did, the group ran out of the building.

They looked back and the structure started to crumble. They were far enough to not be near the destruction. Screams, roars, and howls of agony and suffering filled the air, which made their heartache for their friend.

"Wait, so he's becoming a dragon right now?!" Lucy asked, terrified.

"Yep," Gajeel replied as he stared at the fortress when it suddenly all of it engulfed with fire. The building burned, along with everyone there. They all burned to death.

They all started when a giant form emerged from the flames. The dragon found flew above the infrastructure and fired at it, burning it even more.

The mages gawked at the giant majestic beast. It was a crimson scaled dragon, two golden horns were on his head with a slight curve, with flames coming out of them, making the back of his head glow in the fire. His crimson wings stretched as he soared in the sky. The tribal markings coated his scales. They were a mix of orange and golden, the same color of his flames.

After admiring his work and the place burned down, he descended to the ground, landed.

In his adrenaline, he had become numb to all the pain that his human body had gone through. But now, all of it was slowly returning. His mind was very contrasted and troubled. Different thoughts rushed into his mind, putting even more pressure on his entire new body. He gave out low growls and breathed heavily. His feet buckled as he fell to the ground. He rested there, as his body was still in pain and not used to the sheer force of magic flowing through him. The flames on his horns began to die down as his body felt heavier with each passing second.

His golden eyes shot open the mages suddenly closed in the distance between them. He was so weakened that his senses had all shut down and didn't even notice them approaching. He let out a roar, not wanting them to get too close to him. He didn't want to hurt them even more than he already had.

"Natsu you don't have to go through this alone. We're here for you. Are you still yourself? Can you hear me Natsu?!" Erza asked, continuing walking while the others slowed down slightly.

Erza ignored his piercing gaze and was determined to get through her friend.

"**Go away" **he voiced calmly, his eyes softening but still holding its fierce touch.

"I can't do that. Until now, I've done nothing but sit and watch. I'm done with that. We came here to help you and mark my words, we sill do exactly that." She announced with determination clear in her voice, as she put aside all of her other thoughts.

Natsu avoided her gaze, as he turned away his head. **"Go away. Leave**."

The others joined Erza by her side. Wendy didn't really feel like talking. The things she witnessed still troubled her greatly and she was still revolted. Gajeel watched silently, along with Carla and Lily, who didn't really know what to say. Lucy tried to crack a smile, backing up Erza. Gray stood there. He didn't blame Natsu for what had happened and he didn't want to hold Natsu responsible. But he too had no idea what to say to make the situation better. Happy on the other hand suddenly jumped in the sky and flew towards his friend, tears in eyes as he opened his arms and hugged his huge figure.

Natsu looked down on his little friend with gentle and sad eyes. The loyal friend gave him a genuine smile, which just saddened the dragon evermore because he was the one that had caused them to suffer. He didn't deserve them. Images of what happened in the arena flashed in his mind, seeing him, attacking ruthlessly his friends, slashing them, causing them pain, aiming to kill them. He then looked back at when his hands gutted Gray, his blood painting his claws. It could've been a matter of milliseconds and his stomach would've been his heart. The looks of fear in their expressions, the horror-stricken eyes, all that haunted him and brought nothing but guilt. How was he going to atone for that? He lost his family in that place and he didn't want to ever hurt them again, even if they hate him for what had occurred, which he wouldn't blame them.

He put whatever strength he had left to force himself on his feet, standing up, he stretched out his soar wings, swung them and flew away, leaving them behind as he had nothing to say to them. He had no way of making up for what he had done and they would never accept a monster like him. Not after all the atrocious acts, he had committed.

"Natsu wait!" Lucy yelled in desperation, fell to the ground by the sheer force of the wind emitted by him flying away. She then worriedly looked at her friends "Guys, we can't leave him alone. He needs to know he's not alone in this. We need to go after him" She implored.

"Yeah, I agree. Flame-braines needs to know that Fairy Tail will always back him up" Gray said, grunted and fell to his knees, gasping for air.

"Gray!"

"I'm fine. I just need to sit down." He panted and smiled.

"We need to get you to a hospital. Your condition could worsen" Carla insisted but was met with a pained look from the ice-mage.

"No way. He probably feels guilty for what happened. I need to knock some sense into him and make him understand that none of the things that happened are his to blame. He's probably going crazy form all the guilt piling up" He said as he got back up.

"You're right. The last thing he would want to do is hurt his friends. I can only imagine what he's going through. Not to mention all the pain he has endured over the time he was in that prison" Erza nodded.

Wendy smiled "His body was too injured to get him far. I think he went up in that mountain" She pointed a finger at a mountain that was in walking distance of them. She then turned to face the injured Gray "Are you sure you can walk till there?" Gray hummed and nodded in response.

"No worries. I'll help the Ice-prick walk." Gajeel took one of his arms and slung it over his shoulder in support.

Carla wasn't all for the plan but it was out of her control. Lily seemed fine with going after the dragon. However, Happy looked down, confused and sad for his friend.

Then Erza came forward and coughed to get everyone's attention "We'll find somewhere to take shelter for tonight and we'll go the mountain tomorrow. We need to get a well'deserved rest and go help Natsu tomorrow." She announced. Everyone shook their heads in confirmation as they started walking towards a place where they could rest for the night.


End file.
